The number of Maltese residents departing by air and sea in January was 14,372, an increase of 18.2 per cent over the same month last year, the National Statistics Office reported yesterday; 97.5 per cent of them travelled by air.

Of these, 11,954 travelled to European Union destinations, the most popular being the UK and Italy.

During the month, male outbound passengers exceeded female ones, the former accounting for 65.3 per cent of the total.

The largest proportion of outbound passengers – 54.2 per cent – comprised passengers aged between 25 and 44 years, followed by those in the 45-64 age bracket, who accounted for 35.3 per cent of the total.